How to Clean Oil Stains On Your Driveway

It is fair to say that some of us are better than others when it comes to car maintenance. If a car is not routinely checked you can end up with numerous faults and one of the most common of these is leaks. Even those people who do regularly perform the proper maintenance on their vehicles can fall victims to this. Not only do these things mean that you need to have your car serviced as this is not supposed to be happening but also these leaks could end up staining your driveway. Oil in particularly can leave very unsightly stains which if not dealt with swiftly can become very difficult to remove. Given the price of relaying or repairing a driveway, you should be doing everything in your power to prevent this but if it has occurred how can you go about cleaning the stains effectively?

Stop the Drips

The first thing you should do after spotting a stain or a leak is to stop it getting any worse. You need to have the leak fixed as soon as possible but it is not always realistic to have your car serviced immediately. In the meantime you will want to stop any further staining of the driveway. You should either park your car on the road or the lawn or alternatively buy a drip tray and place it underneath the problem area.

Prepare the Area to Be Cleaned

Once it has come to the time of cleaning up the driveway the first thing to do is completely tidy the area. You will want to get rid of any debris and loose items by thoroughly sweeping the area. In addition to this you will need to stop any water used for cleaning entering the house. Anywhere in which this could be the case such as the front door or the garage should have a piece of tarpaulin put down to intercept the water.

Put Degreaser Down On the Stains

Most oil stains can be removed with a degreaser. Simply put this down on the problem areas and leave it to do its job. If the stains are stubborn and have been there for a while then dilute the degreaser less or put it on neat. After this has been left to sit for a while then you will need a brush with stiff bristles and scrub the area.

Pressure Wash

Take a pressure washer along with the appropriate detergent and turn it down to a low pressure. Go over the driveway with the washer and then allow the detergent to sit on the driveway for a period. Now turn the pressure up and thoroughly rinse the drive concentrating on the stain areas.

Preventative Measures

One way to avoid this cleaning in future, apart from fixing leaks immediately, is to ensure that your driveway is properly sealed. You don’t want to be having to fork out for concrete driveway repairs due to repeated leaks so make sure this is done at the nearest available opportunity to give your driveway a protective layer.